Travel Schedules Suggest Iran ‘Deal’ to be Staged Sunday

Travel schedules of Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif suggest that the parties may gather for a “signing” ceremony on Sunday, March 29 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Omri Ceren, press director at The Israel Project, told reporters via email from Switzerland: “Rumors are swirling about a deal as early as Sunday the 29th: Lavrov is slated to fly in for the 27th-29th, Kerry is supposed to be in Boston on the 30th, and the Iranians are talking about where they want to move the talks for the signing ceremony.”

However, it is not clear that there will be anything to sign. Iran has reportedly refused to commit to a deal in writing, at least until the formal July 1 deadline for talks–the third such deadline since the interim deal was signed in late 2013.

In related news, the Obama administration is reported to have caved on the issue of possible military dimensions (PMDs) of Iran’s nuclear program, and transparency on Iran’s past nuclear efforts. Though President Obama and members of his administration repeatedly told Congress and the American public that they would seek new sanctions if Iran failed to agree to comply with international demands on PMDs, the Wall Street Journalreports that “the U.S. and its diplomatic partners are revising their demands on Iran to address these concerns before they agree to finalize a nuclear deal.”